My Escape Chapter 17

**Got this one out fast, eh?! I'm pretty dang proud of myself. It's just as long as the last one too! Maybe even longer. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. Please leave comments!**

When I got back to my dad’s house, he was in the front yard checking the mailbox. He saw me pull up and as soon as I got out of the car, he asked me, "So how’d the meeting go? Do you have your own place now?"
I gave him an excited smile and nodded happily. I had my own place! Well, in two weeks I did anyways. "I move in in two weeks," I informed him as soon as he pulled me into a hug.

"I’m so proud of you," he boasted, pulling away. He pointed his head in the direction of his house and said, "Let’s go tell Sara. She’s going to be ecstatic."
As I looked at him, I tried to decide if I should tell him about my date with Oliver tonight. Well, I didn’t know if it was exactly classified as a date, but it was something of the sort. I mean, we were having dinner. But then again, some people who were just friends ate dinner together, right? It was pretty easy to say I was confused as to what tonight was.

As we walked inside of the house, he said, "Maybe we could go out tonight to celebrate."
I sighed; well, that decision had been taken right out of my hands. It was now or never. "Well, I’m actually doing something tonight."
By that time, we were inside of the house making our way into the kitchen. "Really?" he asked with a smile. He wasn’t used to me having plans. "What you planning on doing?"

"I have a date," I told him, making certain to leave out who the date was with. He had seen first hand the damage Oliver had done; he wouldn’t be happy that I was giving him a second chance. Even though I wasn’t. Not even a little bit.
"With who?" he asked, looking shocked. "You’ve only been in town a few hours. Someone caught your eye already?"
I cursed inwardly at myself. Now I sounded like a slut who would do it with any willing guy. "Actually…" I started, looking over at Sara who had just joined us in the room.

"What’s going on?" she asked, a smile on her face. But was a smile ever not on her face?
My dad said, "Kara’s got a date tonight."
"Well that’s great, Kara!" she exclaimed. She told my dad, "Since she’s going out do you want to go out to eat somewhere?"

"Sure…just after I find out who she’s going out with," my dad delved, looking at me again with an inquisitive eye.
"Remember Oliver Carter?" I asked him quickly, like ripping off a band-aid. The quicker the pain, the better.
His smile immediately faltered a little bit. "Really? But I thought you two broke up years ago."

"We did, but it was his apartment this afternoon and we got to talking and he wanted to see me again," I explained, keeping a watchful eye over my dad’s reaction. His idea was crucial. I couldn’t hurt my dad. I couldn’t take away his newfound happiness with Sara.
Sara looked at my dad with a curious edge to her eyes and then looked over at me. "Well, I believe everyone deserves a second chance," she added to the conversation with a smile.

My dad looked over at her for a moment and then looked back at me. "She’s right. If you want to give him another chance, half at it."
"Thanks dad," I said with a smile and then ran up the stairs to my bedroom. As I looked around the room, I made a mental note to start packing soon. This room had a lot of crap in it that I could never get rid of.
Oliver had told me eight o’ clock, so I knew that I had a while to get ready, but anticipation was getting the best of me. I had about two hours and I was already rushing to the bathroom to take a shower. When I had become so pathetic?

An hour and a half later, I was finished getting ready. For once in my life, I decided to wear a dress simple enough to wear to a McDonalds, but still made me look good. It hugged my subtle curves in the right places to make them seem more "advanced" than they really were.
My hair, even though it had taken me only twenty minutes, looked pretty good too. The soft brown curls fell against my back and smelled like vanilla thanks to my new hairspray. My make up was soft and seductive even though I had no intention to be seductive tonight. I didn’t--really.

When I walked downstairs at seven forty-five, my dad and Sara had already left. Damn it. I wouldn’t get someone’s opinion about the way I looked. Oh well. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress Oliver or something. I just liked to look nice.
The fifteen minutes before Oliver arrived seemed to take forever. I tried multiple different things to distract me from waiting but none of them seemed to work. So I decided to start picking at my faded fingernail polish. If I had done my nails then Oliver would have known I dressed to impress so the toes and the nails both went unpolished.

When the doorbell finally rang, my stomach clenched and my heart jumped to my throat. Was I seriously back to acting like this? I had been seventeen when we had dated. Was I back to acting like a seventeen-year-old? I sure hoped not.
I removed myself from the couch and then walked over to the front door. After taking a deep, calming breath I pulled it open. When he looked at me, his eyes widened. So I guessed I did look good. Yes! "Trying to impress me, eh?" he teased lightly, grabbing my hand and pulling me gently out of the house.

"You wish," I argued back, earning a smile from his mouth. I locked the door behind me and he never did let go of my hand until we reached his new truck. Well, I had no idea if it was new or not but he had had a different one in high school.
Once we were both inside of the truck, he revved the engine and then pulled out of the driveway. I asked, "So what exactly are we doing? You never did tell me."
"I figured since my apartment is yours now, you’d want to spend time there. So I thought I’d fix you dinner."

I couldn’t help but look over at him and when I did, I noticed he was staring at me. "Eyes on the road, fool," I playfully commanded him, pointing to the road in front of us.
He stuck his tongue out at me and I couldn’t help but giggle. Why had I even been nervous? This was Oliver we were talking about. Familiar Oliver Carter who did strange things to my body and controlled me like I was his little puppet.

Turned out that instead of a nice, home cooked meal, he ordered us a pizza. We didn’t even sit at the kitchen table. We sat on the sofa, watching some movie with no plot line whatsoever but that made us crack up laughing every five minutes.
Maybe it hadn’t been the dinner I was expecting, but it was so Oliver that I couldn’t help but love it. And besides, he had been so much like his old self that I couldn’t even see us using forks and knives and some fancy food. Plus, the pizza was delicious.

When the movie ended, Oliver picked up the empty box of pizza and the scattered water and coke bottles. "Wow, you clean and cook," I joked, slipping my shoes back on. It was only a matter of time until I had to leave.
He hurried back over to his couch, sat down next to me, and then swatted my leg with a pillow. "Hey!" I exclaimed, hitting him with my pillow.
"Oh no you did not," he gasped, and then somehow managed to make me fall over so that he could crawl on top of me and pin my arms above my head. He was grinning like a mad man as he looked down at me and said, "Hit me again and see what happens."

"I’d try but someone is holding me hostage under his death grip right now!"
He raised his eyebrows and said, "And who might that be?"
"Oh I don’t know…some cocky, arrogant, alcoholic football player who thinks every girl in the world is willing to make out with him."
"Not lesbians!" he argued back. "But I do know of one girl who just might be willing right now."
"Oh really? Would you like me to leave so that you two could have the whole apartment to yourselves?" But I knew what was coming. I so did. And you know what? I wasn’t even going to stop it. I wanted it just as much as he did.

"Shut up," he murmured, and then finally his lips came crashing down onto mine. The feeling was indescribable. It was the same as in high school except it was so, so much better. I wasn’t exactly sure of how it was better, but I knew that it just was.
His grip on my wrists loosened and my arms reached upward to twine around his neck; to bring him closer to me. He may have been on top of me, but it still wasn’t close enough. His tongue traced the valley beneath my two lips, begging for entrance. I parted my lips and his tongue met mine in a passionate embrace.

After a couple of moments, that wasn’t enough for me. I needed more. I craved more. I took of his soft cotton shirt and ran my hands all over the lines of his chest. His body was perfection; it was just that plain and simple. I removed my lips from his, gasping for air.
Everything in the room was so hot and passionate that I was finding it hard to breath, especially because he was still hovering on top of me. He pressed his lips against the hollow of my neck and then left a trail of kisses leading up to my ear.
His teeth grazed my earlobe and the reaction my body got was mind-numbing. His hot breath and sultry voice whispered, "I want you."

And so I gave in. He pulled me into his arms, his lips met mine, and then he carried me into his bedroom.

When I woke up the next morning, I was far too comfortable to be alone. Oliver’s bare chest was pressed against my back and his arm was draped across my bare stomach. I smiled to myself and then rolled around in his arms so that I was facing him.
His breathing was steady and rhythmic and he looked so peaceful. Even though I did want him awake, I wasn’t going to disturb him. I looked over at the alarm clock on his dresser and saw that it was almost noon. To tell you the truth, that didn’t really surprise me.

Oliver and I hadn’t "finished" until around three o’ clock this morning. The remembrances of last night brought an immediate blush to my face. I still couldn’t believe I had slept with him after one date. But then again, we had dated all through high school and it wasn’t as if either of us had changed.
It was at that moment that I realized that Oliver was never going to be just a high school boyfriend. All through college I had never stopped loving him; that was obvious now. I knew that I would never be able to watch someone else sleep like I was watching him.

I sighed in content and then scooted closer to him. Our legs were intertwined beneath the sheets and I then realized that I was only wearing underwear. I hadn’t had enough energy last night--or this morning--to put anything else back on.
But I really didn’t care. Last night had added so much to our relationship. Even if he did wake up right now, I wouldn’t care if he knew I was naked. And besides, he hadn’t liked my clothes on me last night.

He quietly stirred beside me and I saw his eyes flicker open. When his tired gaze met mine, he smiled. "Hey, babe," he greeted and I felt his fingers caress my stomach underneath the sheets. "Did you sleep okay?"
I pressed my face against his bare chest and murmured, "Better than okay." It was so true. I couldn’t remember a moment where I had waken up happier. As corny as it sounded, I felt like I was floating.
His arms wrapped themselves around me and he pulled me on top of him. My hair fell around our faces like a curtain as he trailed a finger down my cheek. It was like no one else existed except for the two of us. He gazed into my eyes and said, "I don’t regret last night."

I couldn’t help but break into a smile. "Me neither," I whispered and then lowered my lips to give him a butterfly soft kiss against his mouth. It was so true that it was crazy. Last night made up for those four years when we should have been together. Last night made us closer than ever.
"Of course not," he teased, "You got to make love to me." He was back to normal. Yes!
I rolled my eyes playfully, ignoring when he yelled "glue!" and then rolled off of his chest. I climbed out of bed and searched the floor for my bra. When I couldn’t find it, I walked over to his dresser and pulled out one of his shirts.

After putting it on, I felt his arms wrap around me from behind. "But I liked it better when you didn’t have clothes on."
I giggled and then turned around in his arms. "Of course you did, you pervert!" I taunted, and then wriggled out of his arms.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, not sounding as commanding as he originally wanted to.
I walked into his bathroom and then asked, "Do you really want to deal with my morning breath all day? Can I use your toothbrush?"

A mocking smile appeared on his face as he said, "You did worse last night."
I stuck my tongue out at him and then got his toothbrush out of the holder. After squirting a thick layer of Crest toothpaste onto the brush, I stuck it inside of my mouth.
When I was done, Oliver brushed his teeth and I couldn’t help but laugh. Never in a million years would I have guessed I would be in this position: watching Oliver brush his teeth after we slept together. He looked over at me, bewildered. "What?" he commanded with his mouth full of toothpaste.

He looked so goofy that I couldn’t help but laugh. He spit it out in the sink, rinsed his mouth and then started towards me. I let out a small squeal and then ran into his living room. He chased after me and after a few minutes of giggling from the both of us, he cornered me next to the balcony door.
He pressed his palms against the wall, keeping me his prisoner. He said seductively, "I got you now."
"Oh really?" I teased, my voice slightly out of breath. "And what are you going to do about it?"

He leaned down brushing my lips with his, and then kissed down to my neck. I felt his teeth lightly bite the skin on my neck, but it only felt like a rough kiss. The movement left me breathless. "Did you seriously just bite me?" I asked, happily appalled, as he licked where he bit me and then looked into my eyes.
"You know you loved it," he announced, and then pulled me into his arms. He kissed me roughly and I couldn’t help but melt into his arms. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me into his bedroom. We picked up right where we had left off early this morning.

"I’m not even going to ask," my dad announced when I pulled into the driveway late that afternoon. It had taken me longer than expected to leave Oliver’s apartment.
He was hunched over the flower bed in the front yard, and by the looks of it, he was pulling out weeds. His forehead was covered with dirt and sweat and the gloves on his hands were blanketed with dirt and grime.
"Sorry, dad. I hope I didn’t worry you," I told him as I walked over to him.
"I kind of figured," he said with a slight smile on his face. He was taking that better than I had expected. I had expected him to be outraged that I let Oliver back in my life that easily. "I just hope he makes you happy."

"He does," I told him with a smile on my face, thinking back to how blissfully happy I felt when I woke up this morning. He hadn’t even been awake and he had made me happy.
He rubbed his forehead with his arm and then said, "Sara wants us to go out to eat tonight as a family. You don’t have plans, do you?"
I shook my head and said, "I’m all yours." Eat together as a family? I liked the sound of that. I could always sneak away to Oliver’s apartment afterwards. The only reason he had let me leave this morning was because I had promised him to return tonight. "I really need to take a shower. I’ll see you later," I told him and then made my way inside the house.

Sara was walking to the front door as I got inside and when she saw me, she smiled. "Have fun with Oliver? Your father told me all about him last night at dinner."
"Yeah, I did," I told her, not even mad my dad had told her. I was really starting to like Sara. She seemed to make my dad so happy.
"Good. Well, I was thinking we could all go to dinner tonight…" she started.
I cut her off, "Yeah, my dad told me."
She smiled and offered, "Well if you’d like, you could bring Oliver. I’m dying to meet him."

"I’ll ask him," I said, "Thanks for offering. My dad didn’t mention letting him come."
She nodded and said, "You’re dad was a little anxious when you told him you were seeing him again, but I think he’s warmed up to the idea. I mean, Oliver did call your dad to ask."
"What?" I asked her, befuddled. Oliver hadn’t mentioned talking to my dad. Had he really called him?

She covered her mouth and said, "Oops, I don’t think I was supposed to say that. But now that it’s out…yesterday, after you got home and told your father you had a date, Oliver called him and asked if it was okay with him. He explained to your dad how he never meant to hurt you or something like that. I think your dad really admired him for that."
"Wow," I muttered. Oliver was a better guy than I gave him credit for. I never would have guessed he would have called my dad. I would have to thank him for that tonight.
"Yep," she confirmed with a smile. "Well, I have to go help your father. I was just fixing him a lemonade," she added, holding up a class filled with the yellow liquid.

"Sure," I said, moving out of the way of the front door. She gave me one last smile and then headed out into the sweltering summer sun.
As soon as I got to my bedroom, I picked up my cell phone and dialed Oliver’s number. He answered on the second ring. "Miss me already, babe?" he joked, earning a slight giggle from my mouth.
"You wish. But dad and Sara were wanting to go to dinner tonight and Sara wanted you to come. She said she was dying to meet you."
"I do have that affect on women."

I rolled my eyes and then fingered the fabric of my quilt. After a moment of thinking about it, he said, "Sure. Why not?"
"Good. Did you really call my dad yesterday asking him if it was okay to take me out?" I couldn’t help but ask. I wanted to see if he would lie about it. Oliver wasn’t big on grand, polite gestures.
He sighed, "Yeah. I wish he wouldn’t have told you."
"I’m glad he did. That was really sweet."

He groaned and the sound brought back memories of last night and this morning. My face broke out into a slight blush. "Now I sound like a pansy. Thanks for making me sound so macho, Kara."
I laughed, "Sorry."
He sighed, "I miss you. Can you come back over?"
"It hasn’t even been an hour, Oliver," I told him, but I knew what he meant. I was already missing him too. "And besides, I can just go home with you after dinner."

"Want more Oliver lovin’?" he joked. Oh yeah, he was definitely back to normal.
"Just keep telling yourself that," I replied, trying to keep the laughter out of my voice. My laughter would just egg him on.
"Haha. So where do I need to meet you tonight for dinner?"
"I’m not sure. They didn’t tell me. How about you just meet us at the house tonight at seven?"
"Okay."
"I need to go shower. I have your germs all over me," I joked.
"You know you like it," he argued.
There he was. There was my Oliver.